Access to the internet and digital services has become a necessity in today’s world, on par with basic needs such as water, food, shelter, education, and electricity.
Yet, for many rural and remote towns in Australia, internet connectivity remains patchy, unreliable, or even entirely unavailable.
Who has not experienced a mobile call dropping out or a mobile blackspot, just when you seem to need it the most?
Internet coverage must be universally accessible, as it is vital for healthcare, security, education, and serves as a key driver of the Australian economy. However, rural Australians continue to face mobile coverage blackspots and capacity issues, particularly following the 3G shutdown. These challenges jeopardize health security, especially during natural disasters, and impact essential digital tools that support both social and economic wellbeing.
People living in Australia’s rural and remote areas make up 30% of the Australian population or 7.3 million people. When they do not have equitable digital coverage, this becomes a market failure and the government needs to step in and invest.
The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA), along with 20 other peak bodies, last week welcomed the government’s proposal for a Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation to provide a service framework for up to five million square kilometers of new coverage.
While any step to enhance rural connectivity is welcome, we must ensure that these initiatives meet the real needs of rural communities. Reliable mobile connectivity is vital for health and wellbeing, and rural Australians should not be left behind in these plans, simply because of their postcode.
HEALTH LITERACY & VIRTUAL CARE
Access to the internet is crucial for enabling virtual care through telehealth, remote monitoring, and hospital-at-home services.
Rural and remote Australians are dying significantly earlier than their urban counterparts due to limited access to healthcare, the tyranny of distance, policy inflexibility, and financial barriers—challenges that urban populations are not always faced with.
Everyone has the right to access information about their condition, treatment options, caregiver support, and self-care. As a nation, we must enhance health and health system literacy, but this is challenging without reliable digital access. Progress in health and digital literacy is impossible when information is limited, and research or seeking assistance becomes difficult when local health services and internet coverage are inadequate.
Moreover, fast internet and reliable telecommunications enhance efficiency and coordination among providers, many of whom serve remote communities. This leads to better care coordination and helps address health disparities. Health professionals delivering remote services should have immediate access to records, the ability to provide information to clients or patients, and real-time updates to their records. Without these capabilities, the risk of serious harm or even fatalities increases.
GAP BETWEEN CITY AND THE BUSH
There appears to be an increasing disconnect between urban and rural areas. Economic and social changes have led to fewer urban residents maintaining connections with family and friends in rural communities. Additionally, the corporatisation of industries such as businesses, vineyards, wood processing, abattoirs, and other primary sectors has further diminished personal connections.
Urban Australians often visit rural areas for short stays, which doesn’t offer a true understanding of the extent of under-service or the lack of access these communities face in their everyday lives. As fellow Australians, they deserve more.
Most urban Australians likely don’t consider the connectivity issues in rural and remote regions until they face an emergency with no coverage. However, for rural and regional communities, this lack of connectivity is an everyday reality they must navigate out of necessity.
But we have an economic contract to think about when ensuring equitable expenditure in those communities.
Rural, remote and regional communities currently bring in almost two-thirds of Australia’s export income, produce over 90% of the fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, milk and eggs sold in supermarkets and almost 50% of our tourism income. We need these communities for the economic survival of the entire nation.
However, it is not to say that this is solely an economic contract. We have a social contract as well to ensure that all Australians receive equitable access. This means bringing more investment in telecommunications infrastructure without further delay.
In the bigger scheme of things, Australians are incredibly fortunate. In general, we are economically and socially well-placed compared to the rest of the world. However, there are still individuals who lack access to the basic necessity of digital connectivity. If we cannot advocate for our fellow Australians in this regard, we risk losing sight of what truly matters.
For more information, here are some resources from the National Rural Health Alliance:
NRHA fact sheet on Digital Health and Connectivity in Rural Australia
Submission to the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review 2024
Have your say with our Poll question:
Will the proposed Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) deliver expected benefits?
Yes: I said yes but it will be dependent also on the quality and breadth of the services delivered that will make an impact on changing the Regional/Remote digital health coverage inequity
What more should the govt be doing? Reduce cost of internet/phone usage.